


Safe and Sound

by keenkino



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Abuse Mentions, Angst with a Happy Ending, Lots of Angst, M/M, Read at Your Own Risk, human jinjin, human/cat hybrid mj
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 17:07:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11878992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keenkino/pseuds/keenkino
Summary: Kim Myungjun had been through hell and back, until he met Park Jinwoo.cat/human hybrid au that nobody actually asked for but here we are[tw: mentions of abuse, violence, sexual assault reference]also i didn't proof read this because proof reading is for the weak





	Safe and Sound

**Age 8:**

A hybrid. That’s all people saw in Myungjun. His ears stuck out like a sore thumb amongst his classmates and his tail became more of a toy than an extra appendage. They didn’t see his soul, they didn’t see his spirit, they didn’t see anything past the fact that he was a person with cat ears and a tail.

“Your parents must be so ashamed of you”, they tease him every day. Little did they know that they were absolutely correct, that his parents abhore him for being a hybrid. They’d rather he was entirely cat, or entirely human, and not a mix of the two. His parents let him know this, he wasn’t fed as much as his siblings, often going days without food just for scraps. The starvation was one thing, but the swollen welts covering the expanse of his back told a thousand stories that he could never bare to share. The bullies were definitely better than his parents were, so oftentimes he found himself feeling safer at school. Words can’t hurt him. He’s shut it off entirely.

_The bell rings, he goes home._

On enterring his home, he hears yelling, like always. Timidly, he makes his way to his room, which was nothing more than the cupboard under the stairs. Nobody notices he’s home, but nobody ever does, but it’s not before long before he feels his cupboard physically shaking with the banging on the door.

“MYUNGJUN, the dishes are ready for you to do”, the deep voice of his father engulfing the space he occupied. They didn’t feed him again tonight, but they still expected him to do all the chores that they didn’t want to do. If he was feeling particularly brave, he would decline, his fragile frame rendered energyless by the sheer lack of food, but that always ran the risk of repercussions, so he had no choice but to agree, dragging his semi-lifeless body across to the kitchen sink.

Turning the hot tap on, he turns his attention to the massive pile of dirty washing on the side. He would be here for _hours_ at this rate and for no reward whatsoever. All he wanted was _food_ and a loving environment but that was not to be found here. He was there for hours, scrubbing away at the seemingly endless pile of plates, bowls, cutlery, cups, mugs, and glasses. By the time he was done, it was already dark outside, his body screaming for him to just _go and sleep_ because this is draining too much energy that he just didn’t have to use. Maybe he could try and scavenge something, but that would be like playing russian roulette.

He decides the risk is worth it, peering through the cupboards and fridges trying to find _something_ to satisfy his hunger. He finds an apple, and wastes no time in taking it before rushing back to his cupboard in order to eat it in peace and quiet. Taking a bite out of it, he relishes in the taste it leaves in his mouth, he enjoys the feeling of not being _as_ hungry as he was, his body no longer screaming at him to get something into his system. Satisfied that he can sleep, the rumbling of his stomach won’t be keeping him awake tonight, he lays his head on the single pillow he has, before draping the thin quilt over his fragile frame. He falls asleep extremely quickly, the stresses of fatigue too much for his body.

The sun rises. Life goes on as normal.

**Age 10:**

People still only saw Myungjun as a hybrid. No matter how hard he tried to hide it. The bullies had become more relentless, and their assaults on him soon turned physical and violent. This situation was nothing different, his back against the bathroom wall, the bullies advancing fast with no chance of letting up.

“So, so, who do we have here”, he felt a sharp pull on his tail and he knew there was no escape. They had him well and truly cornered. His eyes darted around the room, looking desperately for a way out of the situation that just wasn’t there.

“Looks like you can’t escape, so let’s have some fun, shall we?” the mocking was once again coupled with a sharp tug on the tail that had him yelping in pain. He knew exactly what was coming. He just _knew._ Myungjun felt so _weak_ and _helpless_ but that made him feel so useless. Myungjun didn’t know what safety was in any sense.

They dragged him by the tail into the bathroom stall, where he was subject to a torrent of torment and abuse. They didn’t stop until he was entirely black and blue, inside and out. He might have been able to shut out enough that words shouldn’t hurt him in any way, but enough got through that he knew he had no space in the world, maybe even the universe. The bullies reminded him on a daily basis that he was an entirely useless being, and that he was better off not being there at all because “theres no room here for hybrids”. _Maybe they were right._

When they finally left him, he took a moment to make sure nothing was broken and was seriously relieved when nothing was. Picking himself off of the bathroom floor, which was a struggle due to the pain, he tried his best to carry on with his day like nothing was wrong, but everything was wrong. His mind was plagued by the voices of the people who tormented him day in, day out. “Theres no space for hybrids”, “your parents must be ashamed”, “why are you still alive”, you name it, he’s heard it all.

The bell rings once more, and he goes home.

His living conditions had deteriorated dramatically since he turned 8. Now being lucky if he was fed once a _week,_ he had no choice but to scavenge for food. It had gone from him having to do the chores nobody wanted to do, to doing all of them. There weren’t enough hours in the day and he had become sleep deprived, his young body unable to develop properly due to the stress, his body not possessing enough energy for him not to collapse.

“You’re so lucky we don’t kick you out”, his father’s deep tone shaking him to his very core. In a way, his father is correct, most hybrid children are abandoned as babies, usually left to die on the street on their own, not knowing their family, not knowing what love is, not knowing what it’s like to be safe. Myungjun didn’t know it either, safety is something he will probably never know, yet he still hangs onto the hope by his fingertips. He hadn’t experienced care, he hadn’t experienced kindness, nobody willing to look past the fact that he is _‘half pure’_ by the sheer nature of his existence, and he began to wonder if his existence is actually worth it at all.

But he keeps holding on anyway.

**Age 12:**

Myungjun doesn’t go to school anymore. He didn’t get a place in the local middle school purely because he was a hybrid and he had nowhere else to go. So, he stayed home. Did everything he _could_ to try and keep his parents happy, but to no avail. The welts covering his back had never seemed to dissapear and it became increasingly harder to sleep on his back. It wasn’t just his back, his arms and legs were littered with little bruises too.

Nobody saw it, so nobody cared. He still held on. He held on to the premise of getting away from his family even though he has little chance of getting out of there alive. Nevertheless, he held on, against all the odds.

**Age 16:**

His parents had gotten rid of him. Sold him to a man over twice his age, essentially sold into slavery. He had to do everything for him, for absolutely no reward. He thought that the constant torment would stop, but it only escalated. Myungjun was now far more likely to have a black eye than ever before, he had no privacy, wasn’t allowed outside, but at least he was actually eating properly now. That alone was enough to keep him going.

When his parents sold him off, he didn’t realise what he was actually happening. His parents introduced him to a man, who gave him no other way of identifying him as ‘Sir’, and told him that he was now Myungjun’s new owner. _Owner._ If only being seen as a hybrid was bad, being seen as nothing more than an object was infinitely worse.

When he said that Myungjun would do everything for him, he meant _everything._ Myungjun’s bed became the same bed as the strange man, and he had to do everything that was asked of him, including being on the receiving end of any sexual fantasy the strange man had. Myungjun found himself constantly feeling used up, beat down, and fighting an uphill battle against what seemed to be the rest of the world. Maybe there wasn’t a place in the world for people like him after all, and he began to lose hope.

**Age 18:**

The strange man who had Myungjun kept captive in his home became increasingly harsher on him. He had cut back on the amount of food that Myungjun was allowed to eat, to just one meal a day, but at least it was _every day_. His demands became so much more, Myungjun now having to _please_ his owner in order to get any sort of praise from him. He had been demoted from the bed to a cushion on the floor, unless this strange man wanted something from him.

His body ached from the years of abuse and terror, he just wanted to be free. He wanted the freedom that he could never have, no matter how close it seemed. His brain just wanted to shut down, but something told him that he has enough of a chance to be free that he shouldn’t give up.

**Age 21:**

Myungjun’s ‘owner’ had had enough of him, dragging him out to the car by the arm before throwing him into the back seat. They drive for _hours_ in absolute silence, until the strange man found a suitable place to dump him, throwing him out of the car onto the pavement before speeding off. Myungjun had never felt so alone, he didn’t know what to do, he just _knew_ this was the end of the line for him. He’s used up, beat down, lost, confused, and hopeless. He has nobody, and no social skills to help him meet anybody who can save him.

A light rain begins to fall, and his natural instincts kick in, desperately looking for shelter in a nearby alleyway. He uses the lid of a rubbish bin as his shelter, curling up around himself as if to make himself as small as possible. The rain becomes heavier and heavier until its basically monsooning all around him.

**1 day later:**

The rain is unrelentless and Myungjun is drenched to the bone. He’s freezing, and is basically out of time and energy. His small whimpers carry away on the wind and he’s shivering uncontrollably.

Then, without warning, a voice.

“Are you okay? Do you have a home?” the voice is soothing, smooth like velvet and barely audible above the sound of the wind and rain. Still, it doesn’t stop Myungjun from reflexively letting out a massive yelp and curling up even smaller, but this new person doesn’t give up.

“Hey, hey, I won’t hurt you, I promise” he says, reaching out to touch the soaked mop on top of Myungjun’s head. His hair is absolutely saturated with water but he still continues to stoke his hair, paying particular attention to the areas behind his ears, making sure to give them a good scratch. As Myungjun warms to the feeling, he comes to a realisation. _This is what care feels like._ He looks at the stranger, eyes wide with fear, but then swallows all the fear when he sees the person smiling fondly back at him. Myungjun has literally no reason to not trust this man so he just shakes his head.

“You can stay with me if you want” Myungjun nods without a moments delay. “Come with me”, the other man gestures for Myungjun to stand up, and the stranger immediately holds his arm up for Myungjun to hold onto if he feels to weak to stand. Myungjun takes the strangers arm and suddenly doesn’t want to let go, and he clings on as if his life depended on it all the way back to the stranger’s appartment.

Once inside, the stranger had a burning question on this mind.

“Whats your name?”

“I-It’s Myungjun, sir”

“You don’t need to call me sir. Come on, lets get you cleaned up”

“Whats yours?”

“Jinwoo”

“Thank you Jinwoo” his gratitude was as real as it could get, because Jinwoo was not out to hurt Myungjun in the slightest. All Jinwoo wanted was for Myungjun to be safe and out of the autumn storm that raged on outside. All Jinwoo wanted was for Myungjun to have somewhere warm to call his home and he would be happy enough if Myungjun wanted to settle with him.

Leading a very nervous Myungjun down the corridor to his bathroom, Jinwoo made sure to be as comforting has he could be, letting Myungjun know that he wasn’t going to leave him on his own. Stopping by his bedroom on the way, he grabbed some fresh clothes for Myungjun to change into after he showered, not letting go of Myungjun’s arm once. Leading Myungjun into the bathroom, he turned the hot water on, before leaving Myungjun in the bathroom so he can sort himself out in private whilst Jinwoo made them something to eat, but before he could, Myungjun grabbed ahold of his wrist.

“Please don’t go _please_ ” he basically begs Jinwoo to stay and Jinwoo can’t help but oblige because it appears that he _really_ doesn’t want to be left alone right now. Myungjun proceeds to undress before tentatively getting into the shower. Jinwoo sees Myungjun’s shoulders begin to relax as the hot water hits his skin. After quickly washing himself off and warming up, Myungjun jumps out the shower, dries himself off, and puts on the clothes that Jinwoo had grabbed for him.

Jinwoo can only look at him in awe when he is done changing. His loose-fitting sweater hanging off Myungjun’s body, the sleeves not quite reaching his wrists, giving him the most adorable sweater paws. The light grey sweatpants were there purely for his comfort but as a whole the ensemble looked absolutely adorable. Jinwoo proceeds to hang up Myungjun’s soaking wet clothes on the dryer he had set up by the radiator, and he makes a note to get Myungjun some clothes of his own.

Leading Myungjun back down the hallway, Jinwoo has other things on his mind.

“How long were you out on the street on your own”

“About a day”

“In all that rain?!?” Jinwoo basically screams at Myungjun, causing him to go into full blown panic mode, backing away slowly as if to avoid any conflict. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Jinwoo.

“Myungjun, it’s okay, I didn’t mean to shout, I’m sorry” Myungjun looks like he’s about to burst into tears so Jinwoo envelops him in a hug before he can get out of reach. Myungjun soon calms down, and then they are just there in the hallway in a tight embrace, Jinwoo’s hand scratching the back of one of Myungjun’s ears. Jinwoo had noticed that Myungjun would basically melt at any affection he was given, so he made it his mission to give him as much as it as he could ever need. What he needed was some love, and that’s all Jinwoo could really give.

Pulling away from the hug, Jinwoo lead Myungjun into the kitchen, where he motioned for Myungjun to sit down at one of the chairs by the counter. Pulling a pizza out of the freezer, he asked Myungjun if it was okay, Myungjun agreeing with a small smile. As the pizza was cooking, Jinwoo tried to get a little more information out of his new companion.

“How old are you?”

“21. 22 Soon though. You?”

“I’m almost 21” Jinwoo’s answer took Myungjun off guard a little, because he thought that Jinwoo was _way_ older than that. He showed a level of maturity that he had never seen before, maybe that’s why he felt so safe.

“Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?”

“I’ll be okay” Myungjun insisted, trying to decide whether he wants to say the rest of what he wants to say. “Besides, they probably wouldn’t want to see me since I’m a hybrid”. His admission took Jinwoo off guard and he was left speechless for what felt like a century.

“If you say so. Just please let me know if you need anything. Heavens knows you’ve been through enough”, Jinwoo was right, Myungjun had been through a lot, and it showed, he was deathly afraid of anybody raising their voice at him and Jinwoo had already become keenly aware of it.

It was at this time that their pizza was ready. Jinwoo carefully took it out of the oven and cut it into slices before splitting it into equal portions for each of them. After handing Myungjun a plate, Jinwoo sat down next to him before digging into their food. Myungjun however, was full, and feeling sick, after just a slice. The discomfort soon became so bad that Myungjun found himself running to the bathroom, retching over an empty stomach. Jinwoo was not far behind him.

“Hey, hey, are you sure you don’t need a doctor?”

“n-no I’m fine, I’m just not used to having this much to eat”

“So how much _were_ you eating before”

“not a lot. Sometimes only once a week” Myungjun can feel Jinwoo’s heart drop into his stomach at his words. Instinctively, Jinwoo smothers him in a hug, promising him that there will always be a safe space for him here.

As they walk together, back down to the kitchen, Myungjun actually takes a moment to look at the appearance of his savior. He’s not quite as tall as Myungjun is, but his body seems well built, which bares no resemblence to his tiny frame. After boxing up the remains Myungjun’s pizza, Jinwoo turns his attention to finishing his own, before taking Myungjun by the hand and leading him into the living room.

Settling down onto the sofa, Myungjun wastes no time in curling up at Jinwoo’s side. They watch tv together for hours, before deciding it’s time to turn in for the night, but not before Jinwoo has one last question on his mind.

“Do you wanna sleep here, or in my bed with me”

“Can I come sleep with you? Please”

“Yeah come on”

Once again taking Myungjun’s hand, Jinwoo leads him towards his bedroom. After passing Myungjun a spare pair of pyjama shorts, they both get ready for bed, before Myungjun curls up at Jinwoo’s side under the blankets. Myungjun must be absolutely exhausted, because he falls asleep instantly to the sound of Jinwoo’s breathing, the first non-threatening noise he has ever heard. Playing with Myungjun’s hair, paying special attention to his ears because Jinwoo knows exactly where his sweet spots are. Inside Jinwoo’s heart, something warm begins to bloom, and he just knows that Myungjun feels it too.

**Age 23:**

A lot has happened in the 2 years since that fateful day. Jinwoo and Myungjun, who now prefers to go by MJ, have been in a committed relationship for most of that time. Over time, MJ slowly started openning up to Jinwoo about the things that happened to him prior to their meeting, each confession and story met with the same level of concern than the last, and all came with Jinwoo’s promise of MJ’s safety. They’d both long made peace with the fact that there was no way the people who made MJ suffer for all those years could ever get the consequences they deserved.

Jinwoo worked, whilst MJ couldn’t because he lacked a lot of skills because of all the time he spent outside of education, but that was okay with both of them, Jinwoo made enough money to cover the rent and any other bills they needed to pay. Whilst a lot of people we’re not approving of Jinwoo’s relationship with a hybrid, they’d managed to make a lot of friends who did, and somehow, MJ was still a people person, even after everything he’s been through. People refer to him as the sun, the life of the party, the shoulder to cry on, people finally sore his spirit, his personality. He was finally more than a hybrid, but Jinwoo still had one more question to ask.

“MJ? Where are you?” Jinwoo beckoned MJ to come to him in their living room. MJ, as always, comes bounding in with a wide smile on his face, his face soon turned to one of absolute confusion and shock when Jinwoo finally had the nerve to speak.

“I was thinking, and, uh, I wanted to know if you would marry me?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to? Jinwoo, you know how much I love you” MJ’s comment made Jinwoo go weak at the knees, him dropping to one to pop the question a little more formally. Of course, it was met with a yes, and then a splattering of kisses.

Later that day, the two of them sat on their sofa, both brimming with excitement about their forthcoming marriage. MJ still couldn’t believe his luck, this time two years ago, he thought he’d die as the slave for somebody he didn’t even know the name of. All the hardships, all the bad times, everything he’d ever been through had been leading him up to this moment.

He was right to have not given up.


End file.
